Absence Makes the Heart
by Pax Morgana
Summary: After a particularly grueling mission, Hayate seeks Genma out for comfort. To his surprise, the comfort goes both ways. Cross-posted to y!Gallery. GenHaya slash. Rated for content.


**A/N**: (Cross-posted from y!) An angsty title for a largely non-angsty fanfic. Originally part one of two, but part two isn't fit for FF, so I'm not posting it. Sorry!

This fic started out as a roleplay I did with someone (the name escapes me atm, but I'll edit it in when I remember) on GaiaOnline. The RP died after I went on hiatus due to health and family issues, but I loved the premise of it so much that I decided to go back to it. I used a pair of posts that I'd saved as the skeleton, and my portion of the RP plot for the non-sexual parts of the story. Everything else came from my head as I wrote, so I didn't steal any writing of my partner's. All the material from the roleplay that I included is my own. (Though, there is a line in there that's a nod to the master of all GenHaya fics, **Penbrydd**. See if you can find it!)

I have no idea how, when, or why I started imagining Genma as a whore with a fucked-up version of a Southern accent, but there you go.

Gekkou Hayate & Shiranui Genma © Kishimoto Masashi. (Unfortunately.)

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Absence Makes the Heart**  
Part One: Fuck You, You Love Me.

Long missions were always a pain, especially in the upper-ranks, where anything and everything could potentially go wrong and end a life -- or end many lives, as was the case with the squad that was returning to Konoha after a three-month-long mission to Tsuchi no Kuni. It had begun as an eight-man team; only three of those eight returned, all of them the worse for wear. The original team had consisted of six jounin and two tokujou, and the survivors were two of the former and one of the latter. None of them had even enough chakra to perform shunshin, so they could do little more than collapse at the gates of the village. One of the three tokujou on gate duty disappeared with a hollow "pop" while the remainders knelt to check for life. The single surviving tokubetsu jounin, one Gekkou Hayate, gave a wet, bloody cough and waved away the swimming figures. He made to speak, but it only came out as a hoarse groan and dissolved into another cough before the world rippled at the edges and dissolved into black.

It was a three-and-a-half weeks before he was allowed out of bed without someone giving him hell, and his first priority was giving the Hokage his mission report. Even though reports were the most annoying aspect of being a ninja, it was such a relief to be out and about again that Hayate didn't care. In the hellish three months that he'd spent in Tsuchi no Kuni, he had often thought about Konoha. He always missed his home village on missions away, but never so much as when he'd thought he was going to die without ever seeing it again.

He ran his mind through the to-do list he had compiled in his head, zeroing in on Priority Number Two: finding Genma. It was difficult to find his old friend, and yet not hard at all; he was always somewhere other than home, which made locating him a chore, but he always haunted one of a few certain places, which narrowed down the search quite a bit. He had to question Aoba, Kotetsu, Izumo, _and_ Raidou before getting a definite answer, and in the end, the answer was not a correct one. Genma most definitely was _not_ heckling Ayame at Ichiraku Ramen; in fact, she claimed not to have seen him all day

Hayate abandoned his quest long enough to enjoy a bowl of ramen, which his stomach appreciated quite a bit after twenty-five days of nothing but hospital food, but he knew that the longer he put it off, the longer he'd be tracking that rambling, restless idiot around the village. Already, his body was worn-out and complaining. With a wave and a thank-you to Ayame, he set off again. He'd find Shiranui Genma even if it took him all day and all night, although that fact directly contradicted his desire to find him quickly. Once Hayate had a goal, he would achieve it, through the sheer stubbornness for which he was infamous among the village's tokubetsu jounin. It was stubbornness that kept him alive, and it was stubbornness that had earned him his rank. It was not stubbornness, however, that ended up finding Genma -- it was sheer chance. In the act of leaving one of his friend's haunts to check another, he caught a familiar backwards hitai-ate in the crowd and wasted no time in pushing through it to catch up.

"Hey, you," he said by way of greeting, one hand perched on his hip, the other darting out to pluck the senbon from between Genma's lips. He was trying to sound perturbed, but the twitch of mirth on his lips negated the effect. He stuck the wet end of the needle in his mouth -- a sort of indirect kiss that he knew would piss off the older male in a purely superficial way, "You didn't come to see me. Not once. Three months I was gone, a month again in the hospital, and where were [i]you?[/i] And don't give me any of your bullshit, either. I want the truth, Shiranui, if you please."

Genma played along with his friend's false annoyance and scowled as he made a show of taking back his needle, wiping their shared saliva off on his shirt, and putting it back in his mouth.

"Quit yer bellyachin', Yate," he said, swirling his tongue around the tip of the senbon in a way that slurred his speech a little. Hayate rolled his eyes. "You know I hate hospitals an' shit. Too clean. Gimme the willies. If you want, though, I can make it up to ya real nice." Waggling his eyebrows suggestively, Genma wrapped an arm around his younger comrade, which caused Hayate to roll his eyes again. Honestly, Genma was so full of it sometimes that it made him want to kick the older man in the gonads and have done with it.

"And how many people have you said that to while I was away?" Genma paused and deflated some. He hadn't been expecting _that_.

"Er...not many. Just...Raidou," he replied nervously.

"And?"

"Okay, you got me. An' Izumo."

"_And?_"

"What do you mean, _and_?" Genma snapped, indignation cutting through his lazy speech. A crippling death-glare crumbled his resolve. He hung his head and muttered, "...An' Kotetsu."

"Give up the innocent act, Shiranui, and just tell me," demanded Hayate. He knew his best friend far too well, and Genma knew he had been caught.

"Fine, fine! An' Aoba, Anko, Iruka, an' Kakashi. Those last two at the same time."

"_Genma_."

"_What?_ It was hot. You can't tell me it ain't, 'cause you know it is," the older tokujou replied, completely unrepentant as he elbowed Hayate, who heaved an exasperated sigh. He sometimes wondered how he had come to see Shiranui Genma of all people as his best friend. If it weren't for the fact that he knew Genma to be a good man underneath all of the...er, promiscuity, he wasn't sure that he would be able to handle him at times like these. Before the silence between them could become awkward, Genma blew a puff of air into his companion's ear and purred, "So, whatcha say, Yate? You an' me are due for some quality time. Been a long time since we got together. C'mon, it'll be like old times."

For added insurance, he sucked Hayate's earlobe into his mouth, removing his senbon before he nibbled gently on the sensitive flesh. The kenjutsu specialist shivered; the groan he gave was as much out of arousal as it was annoyance with his friend's persistence. He knew he wouldn't last long if this kept up. Genma was right, after all: it _had_ been a long time, even before the mission, and his body was responding much more enthusiastically than his common sense thought it should. Strong, possessive arms hooked around Hayate's waist, dragging him closer. He felt the hardness of Genma's erection, and felt his own cock respond in kind. He was suddenly very aware of their surroundings.

"Fuck, Genma," he growled, "Not out here."

Genma chuckled languidly in reply, "Mm, I like it when you say 'fuck', Yate. Gonna add a 'me' in there eventually?"

"Seriously, Shiranui. Not out here. If you wanna be a – oh, god." Hayate's words dissolved when he felt his friend's lips sucking at the sensitive spot in the crook of his neck. Damn him for playing dirty so early on. Common sense went out the window with that little trick, and he gasped as Genma sucked harder and nibbled slightly, just the way he knew Hayate liked it. He couldn't stop himself from urging, "Oh, keep doing that."

A low cackle passed by Hayate's ear, and he almost felt annoyed before Genma complied with his request and chased all other thoughts away. He heard a groan pass his own lips. When Genma nudged his hips forward, his cloth-covered arousal brush against him, his knees turned to water. Taking this as an answer to his request, the older male paused in his ministrations long enough to form the hand signs for Shunshin no Jutsu, willing the pair of them to a familiar place: Hayate's house. They all but crashed onto the sofa, their mouths locked together in passionate exchange, hands exploring through clothing. Somehow, Hayate had made it beneath Genma, and he became aware of a sharp pain in his abdomen that pierced cleanly through his clouded thoughts. He cried out and pushed Genma away, hard enough to send the man toppling to the floor.

"Shit, Yate. The fuck wuzzat about?" the senbon-wielding tokujou demanded incredulously, gaping at his friend as the latter peeled up his shirt to reveal a stitched-up midsection. Genma's eyes grew round and his jaw fell open. It took a while before he could manage, "Holy fuck. You okay?"

"Fine," Hayate groaned, gently prodding the stitches with a finger. He sucked in his breath, a sharp hiss of air, and pulled his hand back as though the wound were a cranky animal about to bite him.

"What the hell _happened_ on that mission to get you so tore up? I ain't heard of a man alive who could get ya that good 'n' live to tell it." In response, Hayate half grinned through the pain in his abs, and Genma relaxed.

"He didn't. He was good, though, I'll give him that. Would have cut me in two had I not gotten away at the last minute. It took nearly all I had to finish him off."

"But ya got 'im, an' that's what counts."

"I guess. He took two of our guys out before he even got to me. I should have challenged him from the beginning."

"Welp, too late to go back an' change it. Jus' gotta move on, heal up, an' don't make the same mistake twice." Genma nodded sagely and leaned over from his place on the floor to pat Hayate's thigh. His eyes wandered; he chuckled mischievously and arched an eyebrow. "Looks like ya got other things ya should be worryin' about, anyway."

"Could you try not thinking with your dick for more than five seconds a day, Shiranui?" Genma scoffed, as though he'd been deeply scandalised. Then, he moved in and his mouth found Hayate's erection, which he sucked at through the fabric of Hayate's trousers. The younger tokujou keened deep in his throat, and Genma sucked harder. "Bastard."

"Yep, still fatherless as ever." Hayate took a playful swipe at his friend, who was smirking cheekily up at him. "Fuck you, you love it."

"I'll love you more if you stop talking and put that filthy mouth of yours to better use," came Hayate's wholly unexpected reply.

"Ohoho, yes sir, Mr. PMS."

"Fuck you, you love it."

"That I do, Yate. That I sure do." Inch by agonising inch, Hayate's trousers were eased down his hips and tossed aside, exposing his semi-hard member. Genma wasted no time in wrapping his lips around it. He sucked gently on the head, every so often flicking out his tongue to lap at the weeping mouth. He was egged on by Hayate's insistent moans, some of them including his name, others some kind of plea, usually in the form of _more_ or _harder_. He loved hearing Hayate moan for him. The swordsman was usually so serious and prudish, and the precious few times they got into bed together always left Genma wanting more.

He would never admit it, but all of his other conquests were poor substitutes for his best friend. He couldn't call it "love" or anything sappy like that, but Hayate was an amazing lay and he was the only one who stuck around afterwards. Or, in cases like this where they ended up in Hayate's house, made Genma want to do the sticking around. With any of the others, it was always fuck and leave. It got tiresome after a while, but what else could he do? He couldn't just wait around like a puppy for Hayate to come back, because what if he didn't come back? Or what if Genma didn't? So he messed around as much as he could in between, though he always marked his way by encounters with Hayate.

"Oh _god_, Genma!" Forcing his odd, semi-romantic thoughts to the back of his mind, Genma focused on his best friend's cock. He bobbed his head down once or twice before withdrawing to lick from base to tip. Hayate squirmed and panted, and tried not to buck. It never took that much to push the swordsman over the edge, and by the next deep-throat, he felt the ripples of orgasm vibrate through his body. It was so hard not to roll his hips, but when Genma started swallowing – "Shit, Genma! [i]God![/i]" – it was nearly too much to take. Although it seemed to last ages, it was over far too quickly, and both of them were separated and panting. They didn't say anything for a long stretch of minutes. Ten, maybe twelve. They looked at one another; Genma tossed another cheeky grin Hayate's way and finally broke the silence.

"Like that, did you?"

"Came, didn't I?"

"That don't mean shit. You can come without feelin' good."

Hayate considered this a moment. It was a strange thing for Genma to say, especially when he knew Hayate was only teasing, which meant his mind was on something other than the current moment. After a little more contemplation, the kenjutsu specialist asked, "Have you?"

"Have I what?"

"Come without feeling good."

"Ain't here nor there. I was askin' _you_." If the annoyance in the older male's tone was anything to go by, Hayate had his answer, and he didn't much care for it.

"Who was it with?" he pressed, carefully sliding down to the floor in order to sit beside his friend.

"None o' yer business, Gekkou," snapped Genma testily. He was angry now; his use of Hayate's family name was proof enough of that. He rarely referred to Hayate by his full first name, let alone his surname, and the younger tokujou knew he'd hit a nerve. He decided to take a different, less invasive route.

"If it was me, would you tell me?"

"Shit, Yate, you know well as I do that it wasn't you."

"So it was somebody."

Genma opened his mouth to say something (probably something profane that he'd regret later) before snapping it shut and thinking a moment. Hayate wondered if Genma knew how easily it was to read his face; the internal conflict he must have been having was plain on his features. At length, he exhaled heavily through his nose and muttered, "I don't feel good with no one but you. I mean, it ain't like we do anything different that I ain't done before, but when it's you an' me, it's like...somethin' new. Shit, I can't explain it. It's just boring with anyone else. It don't feel right 'less it's you. Happy now?"

"Yes."

"The _fuck_ do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. I love you too, Genma."

"Woah, woah. I ain't never said anything 'bout love. Don't get all wifey on me, Yate. I mean it." Hayate chuckled and leaned into Genma, a bright smile on his face.

"Of course. Now shut up and hug me." With a defeated whine, Genma complied and wrapped his arm around Hayate's shoulders.

"Jerk."

"Fuck you, you love me."

"...Yeah, I guess."

**END**.


End file.
